Who We Are

A DeKalb, Illinois native, Ivan earned a Bachelors degree from Augustana College before heading to Southern Illinois University at Carbondale to pursue his Masters degree in Animal Behavior (which comes in handy in the real estate business). He oversees acquisitions of new properties & homes we’re rehabbing but his finest quality is the ability of getting (& keeping) us all fired up.  He takes the health of the City very seriously; after all, being a good City resident isn’t a spectator sport!

Other interests include mountain biking, camping, skiing with his bros & pestering his wife (Jenifer) & little daughters named after their grandpas (Dale & Herbi Glee). 

Another proud DeKalb, Illinois native, Berto earned a Bachelors degree in Finance from Northern Illinois University.  He expertly manages our various companies’ finances, reminds us to file our taxes on time & generally keeps us in line.  We’d be lost without him.  He has extensive knowledge of both residential & commercial lending which makes him a great resource for our company & his mortgage clients.

Hobbies include mountain biking, golfing, playing with a financial calculator & spending time with his wife, Lauren, & angelic son, Lucas. 

Jenifer graduated from Nashville, IL High School & attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale where she studied Metalsmithing (hmmm...) & met her husband, Ivan. Always being the entrepreneurial type, she began her first business venture, Rainbow Revival, at the age of fourteen through which she sold her handcrafted jewelry at local festivals. And although she no longer makes jewelry, she really enjoys buying it.

Buying & selling real estate since 1999, she has sold over $60 million in that time. She is broker/owner of Garcia Properties & member of the Missouri Association of Realtors, St. Louis Association of Realtors, & St Louis Urban Affairs Committee. She is also an active investor, having owned & managed hundreds of rental units. Jenifer was recognized nationally in 2007, receiving Realtor Magazine’s prestigious “30 Under 30” award...just before she turned 30.  Whew. 

Other non-real estate related hobbies include yoga (she’s co-owner of Southtown Yoga), camping, canoeing, wearing flip flops, traveling with hubby Ivan & taking her little daughters, Dale & Herbi Glee, to the monkey house @ the zoo.

Read Testimonials »

Susan is a licensed Realtor & member of Jenifer Garcia’s sales team.  As a lifelong St Louis City resident, she knows all of the neighborhoods like the back of her hand!  You just tell her what you’re looking for & she’ll find it for you.  No wonder she earned the coveted title around our office of “Super Susan!”

When she’s not out househunting, Susan can be found spending quality time with hubby Paul & sons, Devon & Ryan (often rehabbing houses together!), reading, walking her dogs, cooking & belly dancing.  But not simultaneously.

Marti is one of the friendly voices who answers the phones & handles so many important day-to-day tasks around the office.  She prepares leases, assists with rental applications, keeps our permits up to date & ensures we never run out of toilet paper.  She also bakes the most delicious zucchini bread in the universe, which she often brings in to share with us. 

She enjoys spending time out in nature at Innsbrook with hubby Dale, birdwatching, Sudoku & sewing cute dresses for her granddaughters.

A DeKalb, Illinois native, Anna brings a real warmth to the real estate profession. She loves working with first-time homebuyers & showing new investors the ropes. Additionally, she’s a licensed HUD agent so be sure to call her for some great deals on the foreclosure market that most agents don’t have access to. Anna’s work ethic is legendary & she’s fluent in Spanish, as well. Buying or selling a home is the largest financial decision most of us will ever make so it’s important to have a knowledgeable Realtor that will work hard for you!

During the few minutes a day that she’s not hard at work, Anna can be found running, playing tennis or sand volleyball, making hundreds of empanadas, ordering a 14.04 from Pho Grand or spending some quality time with her family. 

Luther handles day-to-day maintenance of our properties & is the friendliest guy you will ever meet. No matter what the job is, he somehow manages to do it with a smile.

When he’s not at work, he enjoys collecting trolls (yes, trolls).  Matter of fact, he has hundreds of them.  He also likes spending time with his wife, Rhonda, & their children, Eric & Tara. 

A proud native of DeKalb, Illinois, Johnny attended Kishwaukee College & is the only person in our entire company to have an official title...Leasing Guru. He handles the leasing of all of our properties (duh) & also heads Garcia Property Management. Despite how busy he is, he always finds time to keep us abreast of the latest sports news & interesting YouTube videos.

Hobbies include watching football (Bears!), playing football, watching soccer, playing soccer, playing kickball, bowling & tennis.  His remaining free time is spent with his lovely wife, Amelia, their little daughter Isla, a fat cat & a 3-legged dog.

A DeKalb, Illinois native, Miguel earned a Bachelors degree in Computer Science from Northern Illinois University. He’s responsible for keeping the rest of us less computer savvy people in line & oversees the improvement & maintenance of all of our properties.  Given that most of them were built in 1929, suffice it to say that he’s a very busy man. 

Hobbies include a borderline unhealthy obsession with fishing, constantly hauling around a trailer on the back of his Nissan Xterra, scuba diving & taking his wife, MaryAnn, out on hot dates...while thinking about fishing. 

Don’t be fooled by David’s laid-back, “no worries” attitude--the man gets stuff DONE!  Having a Bachelors of Science degree in Construction Management from MSU Springfield & several years working as Construction Superintendent for The Jones Company, the advancement to Realtor was a natural next move.  He’s successfully rehabbed & sold many homes in his “free time;” the average length of time on market for these renovations is only THREE days.  Dang. That’s good.

When not practicing the art of real estate, he enjoys backpacking, canoneing, ping pong in his garage & mowing his lawn--and any activity involving his lovely wife, Lauren, & their two super cute offspring.  Dave does not like to wear neck ties or business suits, so please don’t expect that of him unless you have died or are getting married. 

Herbie trolls the streets of Southtown beautifying the exterior of our properties as he deems fit. Buildings always look better after he’s paid them a visit. Sorry folks, he’s not for hire. 

Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his SEVEN kiddos as well as a burgeoning amount of grandchildren, working in his garden, admiring camels, cruising around in his candy apple 1958 GMC truck & enjoying the presence of his lovely wife, Consuelo. 

Ida set the bar pretty high during her first two weeks in real estate; securing nearly one million dollars worth of property under contract during that time.  She continues to impress her clients with her amazing work ethic, ability to put even the most Nervous Nelly of first-time homebuyers at ease & her willingness to do whatever it takes to get their deals closed.

Ida is fluent in German, Russian & Pig Latin.  In her spare time, she enjoys ice skating, gardening & “experimenting with cooking.” She hasn’t poisoned anyone as of yet. 

Shanen is a licensed Realtor & member of Jenifer Garcia’s sales team.  She entered the wonderful world of real estate in 2005, specializing in new construction for many years.  From there, she joined the Garcia Properties team where she especially enjoys working with first-time homebuyers. 

When she’s not scouting out the perfect house for someone, Shanen enjoys playing soccer & spending time with her family.